Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway keeps it simple with these brands

As the chief executive and primary shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett has built an empire by taking big stakes in companies he believes in, particularly those that are easy to understand. Many of those businesses are recognizable brands in consumers' everyday lives—from ketchup to chocolate.

This weekend, roughly 38,000 shareholders and fans flocked to the annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska to hear Buffett and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger answer hours of questions about the company's future.

In honor of the annual pilgrimage, sometimes called "Woodstock for Capitalists," here's a highlight of popular brands—some more familiar than others—that Berkshire Hathaway owns as subsidiaries.